‘Pregnant’ dog had actually swallowed 140 stones

A dog owner in Wales was shocked to discover that his pet had eaten more than 140 stones.

Warren Jones, from Gorseinon, near Swansea, initially thought that his pet Snickers was pregnant. However, it transpired that the bulge was due to the fact that the animal had swallowed 1kg of stones from her owner’s driveway.

The three-and-a-half-year-old cocker spaniel developed the bulge and the cause was only revealed after an X-ray.

She was operated on to remove the stones and is now recovering at home.

Mr Jones told the BBC: "We've never heard of anything like it - it showed her stomach full of stones.

"We've always thought she was nuts which is why we called her Snickers, after the chocolate bar.

"But we never expected her to actually swallow the stones.

"The operation cost a fair bit of money but we had to have it done."

Mr Jones’ son Ryan, 12, alerted his father of the bulge and Snickers was then taken to the vets.

Landscaper Mr Jones said: "Ryan was really worried and we had to take her to the vets, who said he was concerned something had gone into her intestine. So she had to have an operation."

The dog was often seen chewing on chippings from the driveway, however, her owners weren’t aware that instead of spitting them out, she had been swallowing them.

The operation was then carried out by Susanne Ackroyd and Janet Mathews.

When asked, by the BBC, about the operation, Ms Ackroyd said: "This was a bit unusual, it was a first for me. You could feel the stones grinding away.

"Fortunately the operation was not too difficult because they had gone straight into the stomach. If they had migrated through the bowel it would have been much more invasive.